


when you open your eyes and find yourself home

by subtlesraf



Category: Humans (TV)
Genre: F/F, First Kiss, Love Confessions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-08
Updated: 2018-07-08
Packaged: 2019-06-07 04:32:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15211070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/subtlesraf/pseuds/subtlesraf
Summary: mia finds herself at home; truly home, after she receives an unwanted visitor at her flat.





	when you open your eyes and find yourself home

Mia’s eyes opened as soon as she reached full charge, and she recognised the interior of the Hawkins house.

Reaching down to remove the cord from her side, she blinked in surprise to feel a small form curled into her side, arms wrapped around her middle, taking up a surprising amount of room on the sofa.

“Hello, Sophie.” she smiled.

The little head lifted, looked up into Mia’s face, and Sophie beamed, “Hi! I was just waiting until you were done charging. I missed you.”

She hugged Mia tighter, pressing her face into the soft knitted sweater, and a wave of devotion welled up inside Mia, partly out of programming but mostly out of love. This child had been the first in the Hawkins family to accept her, and such absolute trust and acceptance couldn’t be found in many adults.

“I missed you too, little mouse,” Mia carefully removed the charging cable from her side and leaned down to wrap Sophie up in a hug, thankful that she did not need ask permission from anyone else before embracing her smallest friend.

“I hate it when you’re gone,” Sophie spoke into Mia’s sweater tearfully, “I’m scared you won’t ever come back.”

Before Mia could respond, a voice that she replayed over and over in her memory bank every day spoke up softly from behind them, “She’s not the only one.”

Mia’s eyes sought out the speaker, and her head followed, turning to the left to see Laura standing uncertainly in the doorway, and upon finding her, Mia felt immediately safe, and at home.

“Laura.” Mia sighed.

Wide grey eyes softened at the sound of her voice, and Laura’s lips tensed and trembled, managing a smile but still remaining out of reach, wanting to give her daughter time with Mia.

Mia longed to hold her, but only gave a gentle smile, and turned back to Sophie with difficulty, “How have you been?”

“All right.” Sophie admitted, and shrugged.

“How’s Mattie and Toby?”

“Mats is at university, she’s gonna be like a programmer or something and Toby is doing exams soon, so he’s a bit stressed out-” Laura smiled at this, “And Renie is coming back from the clinic as well, so he’s looking forward to that.”

“Renie?” Mia echoed, curious.

“His girlfriend. She was a Synthie, would make herself look like a synth for reasons that are hard to explain, I mean I get it-”

Laura winced.

“…but it’s not healthy, for your mind and stuff, so she was seeing some people to help her with it and how to cope with stuff now that she’s stopped doing it.”

“She sounds like a very interesting person.” Mia said, “I’m glad she and Toby have each other.”

“Just don’t call her his girlfriend,” Sophie scrunched up her face, “He goes all pink and says she isn’t, but it’s pretty obvious.”

Mia smiled.

“Is there anything else you want to talk to Mia about?” Laura said, and her tone was very different from its usual warmth; there was an odd inflection there that Mia couldn’t quite place.

“Oh,” Sophie jerked her head in a nod that turned into a shrug, “I hit someone at school.”

“Oh,” Mia managed to say, surprised.

“I didn’t do it on purpose,” Sophie buried her face in Mia’s chest, pressing her cheek into the soft sweater.

“I don’t understand,” Mia looked around at Laura, who was cringing, “Was it an accident?”

“Well, no,” Sophie admitted, “Someone from the government was there talking about Synths-”

Laura had her face in her hand, and Mia turned back to Sophie.

“…and were saying nasty things about green-eyes, and then Jodie Miller thought it was a good idea to insult my mum to my face-”

“Soph…” Laura said.

“I didn’t want to hit her!” Sophie said defensively, “But she was right in my face, and I just….sort of flipped out.”

Mia looked down at her, “That wasn’t a sensible thing to do, Sophie.” she chided her gently, “Jodie may only have been repeating what she had heard other people say.”

“Yeah, but-”

“I understand that what she said hurt you. I would have felt the same had I been there-”

At this, Laura was surprised. Did Mia mean she would have been angry about the animosity towards synthetics or the attitude towards her?

“Really?” Sophie asked.

“I can, and do, get angry, Sophie. But hurting people who speak against us won’t help matters.”

“But using words to hate a group of people can lead to violence against _them_.” Sophie pointed out.

“That’s very true.” Mia agreed, “There is a fine line that takes a lot of discussion and understanding to pinpoint. I know you were defending your mother and me, Sophie. And…” she hugged her, “I’m glad that I have you looking out for me.”

Sophie squeezed Mia tightly, clinging to her sweater. Mia spoke with no hint of patronisation or belittlement; it was one thing Sophie loved about her.

“I’ve got to have breakfast now,” Sophie let go reluctantly, and jumped up from the sofa, “I’ll be back soon. Mum, do we have jam?” she bounded into the kitchen.

“Yeah,” Laura called after her, and went pink as Mia turned to look at her and stood up from the sofa, coming over to Laura, but rather than hug her, she cupped Laura’s cheek and simply gazed into her eyes.

“Hello there,” she smiled.  
  
“Hey,” Laura managed, swallowing to force down her nerves.

She felt Mia’s touch like a live wire; felt her presence like a magnet.

“I’ve missed you,” Mia told her, and slowly dropped her hand from Laura’s cheek, “I’m sorry for what I said last time we-”

“Me, too.” Laura said, regretting what she’d said about sacrificing her career and her marriage for Mia and her family — Joe had ended their marriage the moment he took advantage of Mia as Anita and then drove the nail in when he repeatedly tried to rationalise what he’d done.

To be honest, their marriage had never worked. And it never would have lasted.

Truth be told, her career had bored her. Although she wished her colleagues had done something for Synthetic Rights, she didn’t expect much from them. She, of all people, knew what lawyers could be like.

“How are you feeling?” Laura asked.

“My systems are at full capacity,” Mia smiled, and Laura grinned, unable to contain herself. Mia was truly terrible at jokes, but also somehow rather good at them, too.

“No, really,” Laura reached for Mia’s hand, but stopped herself, “How are you?”

“Truthfully, I’m feeling…despondent. I was physically accosted in the street outside my flat.”

“Shit,” Laura’s face went white; more so than usual, and her heart rate increased dramatically, “Are you hurt?”

“No. The man I told you about, he turned up. I hadn’t expected to ever see him again,” Mia said, half to herself, and continued, “He tried to touch me once we were indoors. I hit him.”

Laura gave a jolt. She hadn’t expected that.

“I never told you what he’d done, he-” Mia looked down, away from Laura’s eyes and instead focused on a beauty mark that was located on Laura’s chest, “He used a physical relationship against me, and switched me off.”

Laura inhaled sharply.

“When I awoke next, he had me tied up in the back of a van. He was going to sell me. I don’t know exactly who to. I very nearly killed him.”

She was talking almost as if she was Anita again, with no expression or emotion as she recounted the horrible experience.

“I knew that it was my consciousness and age that made me desirable to the buyers, so I uploaded my consciousness and sent it to Mattie. Then I reverted to the Anita persona.” Mia looked back up into Laura’s face, “You know what happened next.”

Laura nodded; she remembered with painful clarity. The relief and happiness she had felt at seeing Mia again was marred by sickening anxiety and fear when Mia was not who she came home to.

“I’ll never forget what it was like when I touched you and you said…what you said.” Laura had to blink away tears that were gathering in her eyes.

It had been chilling. Laura’s heart ached as she remembered it.

Mia took Laura’s face between her hands, “I’m so sorry that you had to go through that, Laura,” she whispered.  

“That’s what I’m supposed to say to you,” Laura choked on a laugh, her voice weighed down with irony.

“I know my experience was-” Mia closed her eyes longer than a blink, “Harrowing. But it’s different than coming home to someone… and they don’t even recognise you.”

The tears spilled down Laura’s cheeks. She thought she’d hidden it so well.

Mia stepped forward and took Laura in her arms, but instead of resting her chin on Laura’s shoulder, she pressed her forehead against Laura’s, feeling her tremble as their noses touched, arms on each other’s waists, hips.

“Mia.” Laura sighed, and bit her lip.

“Yes, Laura?” Mia’s green eyes were burning bright, just millimetres from Laura’s.

Laura closed her eyes just as Mia’s lips brushed over hers, and Laura felt a hand on her cheek again, this time cradling her face to kiss her.

“I love you.” Mia spoke against her lips.

“I love you,” Laura sobbed as Mia kissed her again, her lips parting Laura’s, her mouth tasting like cool metal, her touch as light and as warm as a sunbeam. Laura’s fingers found their way into Mia’s hair, their bodies pressed together, Laura’s curves soft against Mia’s slim form.

A clinking from the kitchen reminded them that Sophie was there, and Laura pulled Mia closer for a moment, trembling against her and stepped back, flushed and breathing uneven. She sank onto the sofa, and Mia sat beside her, taking her hand.

“Laura,” she began, but Sophie came bounding back into the room before she could continue.

“I heard you say you hit some guy. Is it true that-”

“Soph, that’s enough.” Laura interrupted.

“Mum, I just-”

“I don’t think Mia wants to discuss it right now, and to be honest I’d rather you didn’t get any other ideas.”

Sophie pouted, but at Laura’s raised eyebrow, she listened, “Fine, I’m going to go upstairs to change. Mia, are you going to stay this time?”

“I’ll be right here when you get back, Sophie.” Mia assured her, “I won’t leave.”

Sophie smiled and ran upstairs.

Laura was looking at her hand entwined with Mia’s, lying between them both.

“I won’t ever leave again,” Mia promised, and Laura looked up as Mia leaned forward, and kissed her again, burying her hands in Laura’s thick red hair and making her heart pound frantically in her chest; through contact, the pulse reverberated through Mia’s sensitive form — Laura’s heart was beating for her.

Mia knew that if she had an organic form and a heart of her own, that it would be responding in kind.

 

**Author's Note:**

> comments mean the world.


End file.
